petri dish art

These beautiful paintings are the work of Klari Reis. Instead of using traditional canvas as the foundation for her art, she uses petri dishes. The results are visually stunning. The title of each piece is pretty terrific too. Check out the complete gallery here: The Daily Dish 2013. A new one is posted each day. This is her second go 'round, and while those are impressive, I find her latest batch more striking. Read more about the project on her site.

satellite collections

Part of Jenny Odell's Satellite Collections. Some of my favorites -- all of the basketball courts on Manhattan (above). After the jump -- ships and salt lakes. 

good medicine: aled lewis

I hate using the word "cute", but this series by Aled Lewis is just that. But also funny, and clever, so that balances out the super saccharine side of things.

You can check out more his work here, as well as buy prints here. More images after the jump.

good medicine: kyle benjamin jorgensen

More longing for the forest. By Kyle Benjamin Jorgensen.

good medicine: matt rich

Another splash of color for the day. Happy eyes equals happy brain. These paintings by Matt Rich are just what the doctor ordered.

tell mum everything is ok

Well, this isn't exactly fresh news but I wanted to pass along my excitement and gratitude for having this photo included in the fourth issue of Tell Mum Everything is Ok -- "Wasteground". If I had been on top of things you might still have a chance to buy it; they are sold out now. You can however get a look at all of the photographers that were included by going here. Please check out the talented company I was in.

Günther Uecker

Whoa, check out these sculptures by German artist Günther Uecker. This would something fun to try at home... and hey, if it doesn't work out you can always hang a coat on it (or a million teeny pictures). More over on Synaptic Stimuli.

carl kleiner

If you spend any time checking out art/design blogs odds are that you have seen Carl Kleiner's work for Ikea's cookbook “Hembakat är Bäst” (Homemade is Best). I hadn't really checked out the rest of his site until recently though, and that is when I fell for the "Skanska" series. Is it paper? Is it not? I have no idea, but I enjoy that it at least looks like it is, along with the colors and simplicity. A few more images are after the jump.

future reading

I really love this image by Kevin Van Aelst. It accompanies a recent article in the New York Times about Vook discussing the general way we are changing how we read and what place visuals have in the digital age of literature. 

cody hamilton - relics

Dang it if this isn't a genius idea. Artist Cody Hamilton transformed items from the 80's, draining them of their vibrant colors with a plaster-like coating of white, effectively turning them into modern-ish counterparts to the statues of Greece's past. Simple on mainly levels, and perfectly conceived. More after the jump but definitely check out his site for the full set.

nature boy

By posting this I'm ruining the surprise for my boyfriend. This is the must-have shirt to give your guy this holiday season. It's festive right? Ok, I kid, but this whole series of "Zero Footprint Shirt: Leaf Series" are maybe not practical however are obviously a project that was a labor of love. Some of them are pretty gorgeous in fact. They look like a craft project all grown up. Check out artist David Rittinger's site for more.

pulpy breakfast

I am continually astonished by the things that people can do with paper. Really, once the idea is even concieved I can't imagine the patience and skill required to pull this off. Brilliant I tell you. I have never been so hungry for paper. Check out everything by Fanette Guilloud here.

[ via Burstoid ]

immortals

Whoa and I thought I liked cataloging things. Valerie Hallier has created an installation using photos of everything she has owned in the last 10 years, intended to highlight our relationship with objects and consumerism. Visually it's of course very interesting, but more so once you consider the bigger picture. You can read more about it on her site.


[ via Picame ]

Maurizio Anzeri

Most certainly bizarre but at the same engaging, Maurizio Anzeri combines mediums that individually conjure up memories of my youth. I however never imaged family photos would go with weird 70's string art.

[ via Horses Think ]

jorge chamorro

Some interesting collage work by Jorge Chamorro. That's about all I have the energy to say. And that is my super lazy post of the day.

valero doval

This artwork by Valero Doval gets an A+ from me. It's silly and colorful but that's why it earns high marks. To me this series is sort of reminiscent of John Baldessari, an artist that I love. I don't know, maybe just a little bit. Not a bad comparison either way.

art good enough to eat

It merely looking at art has become too boring for you I have good news... now you can also eat it. Check out the screenprinted AND edible designs of Sawa Tanaka.

what josh found: do gooder art

Once again I have to thank my good friend Josh for turning my attention to a great website. For this installment of what I am now going to start calling "what Josh found" I/we bring you Wants For Sale, which is the joint project of artists Justin Gignac and Christine Santora. Here they present their wants depicted as paintings. As they say...

At Wants For Sale we make paintings of things that we want and then sell them for the price of the real item. So a painting of "A Slice of Pepperoni" costs you $3.00 while "Dinner at Nobu" costs $152.00. After the painting sells we go out and buy the item.

The artwork does not end there as you can take a quick click over to the sister site Needs for Sale. Here similar paintings are created however in this instance represent items for charity groups, and all profits go to the correlating cause.

And if you haven't quite satiated your desire for offbeat art you can journey over to New York City Garbage where you can buy a little piece of NYC's best trash, bundled up in an attractive clear cube.

Last, if you would like a glimpse of works that have sold you can go to their Flickr site.

birthday fun pt. 2

On the way back to Austin I had it in my mind that I was finally going to pull over and take a picture of this strange metal longhorn that is on the side of the road. Numerous times it has captured my eye. It's literally the middle of nowhere and there stands this shiny structure among many trees and an expanse of green grass. So we pull over and I find that if you look in the right place you'll see a sign advertising a Sculpture Ranch (apparently it has been there since the late 70's) down a one lane country road. With no time table we decided to investigate and head towards it. It was also free so really nothing to lose.

After about a 20 minute drive we found ourselves truly in the middle of nowhere, nestled in the hill country, and on a dirt road that led us throughout a scattering of outdoor monuments and artwork. It was seriously the best surprise that I've come across in forever. The sculptures were all pretty bizarre but ranged from mind bending sci-fi drugged out like to fanciful fairy tale like. We were the only ones there which added a surreal touch to an already weird atmosphere.

I didn't take pictures of everything on display but the above image is one photo as well as this, this, this, this, AND that. And for grins if you want to see John in a silly hat, standing next to ugly underwear in the presence of an American flag go here. Anyway, it's a Texas attraction that should not be missed (the park not John in a hat).

The birthday ended in Austin with lots of friends and fun. It wasn't my birthday but I had a great time and hope John did too.

keeping track

Obsessive compulsion as art. Good stuff.

[ Simon Evans via A Cup of Jo ]